The Chaos Blade - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Dolgen turned to his companion, Durak, and said, "He had to come here, I'll get us a room, ye do the askin'."

Durak nodded and they parted company as soon as they had passed the Oradin gate.

Durak was an old friend of Dorn's who had volunteered to help Dolgen retrieve Glormindel and help avenge the death of Dorn. So far, Dolgen and Durak had gotten along quite well, and they made a good team, as long as both of them were united on a mission of vengeance. Durak was also a lieutenant in the standing army of clan Stoneshoulder. Dolgen, on the other hand, had spent his first fifty years as an adventurer. In his next fifty he had risen to the rank of colonel in the dwarven army and was present at the great battle where Ancaruin was slain and the good dragons released. Now, at the age of one hundred seventy-seven, and just past his prime, he had settled down to the life of an armorer and smith. Durak, thirty years younger, was quite content with his life in the dwarven army.

Dolgen found a suitable inn and sent a boy off to find Durak and report to him where he was. He settled down in the taproom to show the locals the incredible drinking endurance a dwarf possessed. He was also interested in any rumors the bar might hold, although he was far more interested in the quality of their ale.

Dolgen waited for what seemed like an extremely long time before the boy he had sent to find Durak returned, his face red with exertion.

"Sir," The boy said, very nearly out of breath, "Your friend told me to get you! He is sorely wounded!"

Dolgen leapt up from the table, sending both his chair and the table crashing to the ground. "Take me to him now boy!" He cried out.

As Dolgen moved towards the door the serving man called out to him, "Hey, wait, your tab!"

Dolgen cursed and ripped his money pouch free of his belt. He turned and threw it at the man, which caught him square in the teeth, knocking some out, others loose.

They ran as quickly as they could, and finally came upon a crowd of people gathered around something. "Out of me way!" Dolgen roared as he burst through the ranks of the stunned spectators.

Dolgen dropped beside Durak and ignored the priestess beside him. He clutched Durak's hands and tried to get him to respond, but he could see he was already to late.

"Friend dwarf, it is to late, your friend is with the gods now," the priestess said to him as Dolgen sat back.

Dolgen stood up and looked at the priestess. She wore the symbol of Karthor, the god of light, and little else. "By Nordan, ye humans have no self respect! Put some clothes on! Ye'd never catch a dwarf wearing as little as ye do!"

The priestess raised an eyebrow at Dolgen's strange actions. "I do not understand good dwarf, what is the problem?"

Dolgen looked away and controlled himself. He had to remember that the surface races quite often went ungarbed, after all Viconia was a tropical land. It grew even warmer underground, but dwarves had long ago developed clothing as a type of protection from the dangers the tunnels they mined often presented.

"Sorry," Dolgen mumbled to her. "Look, could ye tell me what happened here?"

"Certainly, your friend attacked a human warrior without provocation. After a short battle, the human thrust his sword into your friends chest and finished it," She explained, slightly mollified.

"What type of blade did the human use and what did they look like?" Dolgen questioned.

"'Twas a very long sword, though not a great sword. Its hilt was studded with jewels, and it seemed to have been forged out of a red metal. The human was a man with breeches so badly torn that they did little for him, he had black hair if I remember correctly, I only saw him briefly as he pulled his weapon free of your friend and turned and ran off," The priestess summarized.

Dolgen nodded, he had found Glormindel. The red coloration would go along with what other people along the way had described such brutal scenes as, though he did not know what would cause such a thing to happen.

"There was something else," A male elf to the side offered.

Dolgen looked at the elves dark skin and average build and wondered at the surface races borderline disdain for clothing. "What was it?"

"Patience, friend, I would like to know why this is of such importance to you?" The elf responded, his tone curious.

"That sword is stolen from me clan, and me friend was slain by he who stole it! I mean to have me vengeance and retrieve the blade for me clan hall!" Dolgen spat out impatiently. "Now what was it, elf?"

"The warrior, he left the sword impaled in the dwarf's chest for a few moments after he had struck the mortal blow," He explained. "I have seen many powerful and magical blades before, but never one such as this, I was merely curious."

Dolgen nodded, that went along with the stories also. Dolgen knelt back down beside Durak's corpse and noticed that the wound was clean of any blood. "Where'd he go?" He asked the elf.

He pointed off to the west and said, "Do you need any help retrieving it?"

Dolgen snorted in contempt, "Bah, so that ye can take it next and stab me in the back, I think not, elf! I'll be on me way!"

The priestess interrupted and said, "What would you have us do with your friend?"

Dolgen mumbled something in the dwarven language and broke the necklace Durak wore. The body immediately burst into flames of a brown, earthy color.

"Nothin," Dolgen said, "Dwarves take care of their own."

The priestess nodded, not showing any surprise at the strange dwarven magic. In a few seconds Durak was completely consumed, clothing and all, by the flames.

Dolgen turned and hurried away to retrieve his pony. The elf smiled as he watched the dwarf hurry away. Another elf, this one light of skin color walked up to him and asked, "What was that all about?".

The dark elf shook his head and said, "Oh nothing much, just remembering how stubborn dwarves tend to be." He turned and faced the light elf. "I thought I told you that if you must come out in the public, wear the hood of your cloak up, you seem to forget that while you may not have similar beliefs as your people, your kin are as a whole ruthless and evil."

The light elf bowed his head and pulled his hood up, though it irritated him. They had been together over a century of years already and had done many deeds for the good of Viconia. From slaying dens of foul creatures like giants and orcs to more noble quests of rooting out bandits and brigands. Together they knew no challenge too great to overcome. "My apologies, I would not wish to bring down the wrath of an entire city upon but the two of us, though it might be a challenge."

"Remember, friend, confidence in your skill is one thing, but arrogance... that leads to an early grave." The dark elf said, throwing his arm around the light elf's shoulder and beginning to walk away.

"This thing we seek, it may be that sword, I am not sure yet," Kelnozz was back to business as usual.

Darakor snorted. They had been in the area for literally scores of years. Kelnozz had long since told him of Ancaruin's falling and of how his essence had spread out throughout Belurian when he was slain. Now the fragments of Ancaruin sought vessels to rest in, to marshal his strength until he was brought back together and returned from his near state of death. Yet no matter how close Kelnozz could come to finding the enchanted vessels he could only track it from afar, not from close by. Thus they had spent the past years chasing ethereal fragments, trying and failing to find the thing that Kelnozz sought.

And now he was certain that it had finally settled on a host in which to rest its infernal spirit. Typically the possessors of said objects went mad with the power they carried, either went mad or tried to harness it and instead enjoyed brilliant but tragically short successes in their equally short life until they burned out from the contact.

---

In under ten minutes Dolgen was armed and armored for war in his shining plate mail (the dwarves made the best armor of any race) and his great double bladed axe. He forced his mount into a gallop to the west, feeling a bit of nostalgia, wearing his old adventuring gear.

Dolgen left Oradin heading west as fast as his encumbered pony could go. He rode as quickly as he could, and even rode through most of the night, cursing himself for having to sacrifice time to make sure his mount did not die of exhaustion.

A few days later, Dolgen came upon the town of Reballge. He saw it steadily growing larger on the horizon. Not only did he close upon Reballge, but also the Endless Ocean, which Reballge had a port upon. His pony was nearly spent, but he managed to spur it on as he came within sight of his quarry not quite an hour ago. Furthermore, the human had not yet seen him.

---

Mithac finally had a sense of somebody watching him. He turned around and saw a dwarf on a pony a ways back. Cursing his ill luck and somehow knowing that this dwarf was related to the other one, he broke into a run. Mithac knew that his legs could not match that of a pony, though he could sorely test it if he chose. He also knew that he would not be able to make Reballge, so he turned off of the road to plow through the knee high grasses of the plains around him and make it harder going for the pony. He headed straight for the Endless Ocean.

---

Dolgen saw that his quarry had most surely sighted him, for he had turned off the road and now went through the waist high grasses on the dwarf. Dolgen rode his pony as much as he dared, then jumped off of it and ran straight at the man, his stubby dwarf legs not being quick, but possessing endurance and strength.

---

Mithac had run out of room. The grasses had died down to nothing as close to the edge of the cliff as he was. He stepped back from the several hundred foot drop to the ocean and drew Vinuthain for a showdown. He had a feeling this fight was going to be harder than any of his others.

---

Dolgen readied his great axe and made sure his studded helmet was on securely as he charged into range. He slowed his pace as he came within speaking range of his adversary.

"Who are you dwarf? What do you want with me?" The man called out to him.

"I am Dolgen Blackhammer of clan Stoneshoulder. Ye've slain me kinsmen and stolen me clan's property!" Dolgen said wrathfully.

"Then come at me dwarf, and know your slayer is Mithac Strongarm. Come Dolgen, come into the warm embrace of Vinuthain!" Mithac held the sword out in an attempt to get Dolgen to fall under its sway of power.

"The Sword's name is Glormindel!" Dolgen said in an outrage as he charged forward, completely unaffected by the swords power.

Dolgen ducked under the first swipe of Vinuthain, and he crashed into Mithac's knees with all of the force he could muster. Dolgen's studded black iron cuirass did quite a number on Mithac's shins and knees, causing him to stumble and fall on his back. Dolgen jumped up, his axe ready.

Mithac rolled to the side to avoid Dolgen's great axe. He came to his feet, surprised to find that his sword was still in his hand. He blocked an earth shattering blow from Dolgen's axe easily, and then counter attacked. Dolgen had his heavy weapon back in time to block it.

The melee continued for several minutes. Dolgen's armor was easily cut through by Glormindel, but it usually slowed it down enough to allow him to avoid the killing blow. He stopped trying to cleave Mithac in twain and concentrated on forcing him backwards. Mithac understood the dwarf's strategy but he could barely keep him from chopping his knees to hamburger, let alone launch his own offensive.

Mithac finally gained enough momentum to stand still and fight off of Dolgen's advances. Dolgen began to tire, due in part to the many scratches and bruises he had received from The Sword. Dolgen knew that the momentum had switched against him, but there was naught he could do about it.

Seizing upon an idea, Dolgen through his axe high in the air at Mithac. Mithac tried to block it and only then realized his mistake.

Dolgen lowered his helmet and body charged him. His helm connected with the warrior's tightly muscled, but unarmored stomach, causing him to both lose his breath and his balance. He stumbled back a step, then another. He felt nothing under his foot and cried out in rage at being bested. He reached out and managed to grab a hold of Dolgen's arm.

Vinuthain refused to allow Mithac to drop it, though he did try. He brought it up to slash at the dwarf who was his only means of survival, now that he was hanging over the edge of a cliff. Dolgen knew that things were not good for him at that moment, and he was prepared to make whatever sacrifice was necessary to insure that Mithac was slain and Glormindel recovered.

Mithac swung the sword at the dwarf, and Dolgen managed to twist so that the blade cut through Mithac's arm and half of his own hand. Mithac roared in pain as gravity claimed him. Dolgen blinked the tears of pain out of his eyes as he watched Mithac fall with enough force to kill a normal man when he hit the water.

The force of the water hitting him was more painful than anything he had yet felt in his life. The sharp pain in his side hurt him even more. He opened his mouth to scream, but drew in water instead of breath.

Dolgen stood up, putting pressure on his hand so that the bleeding would hopefully stop. He continued to look down, seeing nothing but an undisturbed sea after the mighty splash. Dolgen fancied his knew name would be Dolgen Halfhand, due to the missing digits on his left hand.

---

"Glormindel 'twas an evil blade, clan master," Dolgen finished his report to the dwarven council, his bandaged hand hanging limply at his side. "'Tis good that 'tis lost to the sea."

The council unanimously agreed with Dolgen, though they also agreed it was an extremely excellent dwarven work. After a few rhetorical questions, Dolgen was allowed to return to his rooms for rest and, much later, return to work, if his hand would allow him to do so.

Unknown to them all The Sword, be it known as Glormindel, Dwarfvain, Vinuthain, or just The Sword, waited patiently at the bottom of the sea for an unsuspecting victim to become its next pawn.

Continued in Chapter 9

---